With showtime less than two weeks away, I am getting a lot of questions about Pulse, and what we will be streaming over the internet from the conference. So for today's blog, I'll do my best summarize the highlights and where to get more information for your viewing pleasure.

In a nutshell, we are streaming all three days of general sessions as well as the stream keynotes on the Pulse website. We will also stream exclusive interviews with key presenters, including Steve Mills, Manoj Saxena, Jamie Thomas, Marie Wieck and others. You definitely don't want to miss day three when Grady Booch interviews Steve Wozniak in the general session, which . . .

Over the next two weeks, while we complete the rest of the Pulse Livestream schedule, think of what you want to ask co-founder of Apple Computer, Steve Wozniak so you're ready on Wednesday March 7. Do not tweet your question before the live Q&A session kicks off from Pulse. Do make sure to follow @ibmpulse so you can join the conversation during Livestream events and all throughout the week.

As I mentioned, this schedule is not complete and any of it subject to change.

Today's healthcare providers and payers are building sustainable healthcare systems, while collaborating to improve quality, outcomes and personalized care and increasing consumer value and access. Join us at Pulse 2012, a premiere IBM Service Management event, from March 4-7 in Las Vegas, to explore these issues and learn how IBM solutions are helping healthcare providers and payers achieve business without limits to address important topics like new service delivery models such as Cloud, physical and digital convergence in facilities management, demands from the growth of mobility, and managing and securing data.

Over 300 client-driven speaker sessions are confirmed for Pulse including presentations from The Johns Hopkins Hospital, University of Utah, and WellPoint. Pulse will help you learn how to fundamentally and cost-effectively change the economics of IT and speed the delivery of innovative products and services by building skills and gaining insights in critical healthcare topics, including:

Smarter Hospitals and Healthcare

Effective Compliance Management

Operational Excellence through Asset Reliability

Pulse 2012 will also be featuring the latest technology initiatives and next-generation solutions offered by IBM and our business partners, where clients can experience demonstrations addressing important topics for healthcare providers like Smarter Hospitals, Maximo Mobile Suite, and Delivering Effective Governance for Identity and Access Management.

More than 7,000 attendees will take part in Pulse 2012. Register now to secure your space at http://ibm.com/pulse

We look forward to seeing you at Pulse 2012!

Keep visiting our blog ibm.com/blogs/pulse for more updates. And for more information on our energy and utilities industry solutions, visit ibm.co/zaCzh0

IBM has never been a wall flower in the business of making history. Just Google "IBM Centennial" if you have already forgotten the 2011 celebration that highlighted some of our greatest moments in leadership and invention. But this year at Pulse, YOU have the opportunity to literally help make history. Not just IBM history but the history of humanity.

Today's Pulse blog is a call to action from Jan and Grady Booch. Grady, as you may have heard, will interview the legendary co-founder of Apple, philanthropist and Dancing with the Stars alumnus, Steve Wozniak during the Pulse Day 3 general session. What you might not have heard is what else Grady is up to at Pulse.

Grady is working on a new documentary project to study how computing has changed humanity. As with any documentary or scientific study, one needs data. Loads of it. During Pulse, Grady will be onsite collecting data for this project. Grady's goals for this project include capturing over 2000 video interviews of people sharing their personal stories of how computing has changed their lives.
The project is called Computing: The Human Experience.

I asked the Booch’s to give me a quick summary of the project to extend an invitation for your participation and this is what they shared with me.

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Why Is Computing Important?

Because the story of computing is the story of humanity. Computing is a story of ambition, passion, invention, creativity, vision, avarice, and serendipity, powered by a refusal to accept the limits of our bodies and our minds. From the abacus to the iPad, from Gutenberg to Google, from Enigma to GPS, we have created computers to count the uncountable, remember beyond our own experiences, and see the invisible as well as the unforeseeable. In just one or two generations – an imperceptible time in the timeless sweep of the universe – we have created a technology that has the power to extend us, to transform us, to define us, perhaps even to destroy us.

As a part of this project Grady has created a YouTube channel
and he would love to have you share the story of your human experience with computing. Computing: The Human Experience will have a video booth for you to record your 2-3 minute story. And we will post many of them on Computing's YouTube channel.

Some ideas to get you started:

How has computing changed who you are?

What is your first memory or experience of computing?

What are your hopes for your children in this digital world we live in?

Come be a part of telling the world that computing is more than machines and software - it is about people!

Smart communications clients are transforming operations to achieve new levels of business and service excellence while being asked to build out smarter networks at the same time. Join us at Pulse 2012, and explore the keys to innovation and agility with a robust service delivery platform. At Pulse you will hear how effective network and service assurance enables control of the entire communication and content management infrastructure, and the strategies for next-generation service quality and delivery.

Speaker sessions confirmed for Pulse include presentations from Bharti Airtel, Dutch Cloud, IMImobile, Rogers Communications, TIM Brazil and U.S. Cellular. Pulse 2012 will help clients learn how to speed the delivery of innovative products and services, and change the economics of your operations by building skills and gaining further insight in important communications topics, including cloud as a platform for new services, building smarter networks, how advanced visibility, control and automation drive smarter operations, as well as Service Provider trends and directions.

Pulse 2012 will also be featuring the latest technology initiatives and next-generation solutions offered by IBM and our business partners, where clients can experience demonstrations addressing important topics for communications providers like Smarter Networks and LTE, Intelligent Site Operations for Smarter Networks and Managing the Network in Today’s Mobile World.

The Pulse blog is pleased to present today's guest blog by Danny Sabbah, General Manager of Tivoli Software, IBM Software Group

Pulse 2012 is fast approaching, and this year we’ve evolved the conference to focus more on education, information exchange and interaction – which is what you’ve asked us to do.
Pulse will feature IBM experts and industry leaders across three general sessions and over 400+ breakout sessions across our four streams - 75% of which are lead by your peers! Not to mention plenty of networking opportunities with your peers at the Executive Summit, Business Partner summit, and receptions.

Pulse provides a unique opportunity for you to learn more about the capabilities you need to transform IT economics and speed service delivery, including strategies and actions to help gain value from cloud computing, mobility, security, and smarter physical infrastructures. While on the surface these sound like buzz words, I’m certain that we have the depth and best practices for you to successfully implement these initiatives in your organization and tie them to real business outcomes.

In addition, within the Solution Expo we are introducing an Interoperability Center. We added the Center, based upon your feedback, to demonstrate IBM’s open platform for integrating service delivery across IBM, partner and third-party solutions. The demonstrations will be in the context of real business scenarios, including: cloud, smarter buildings, continuous development, and more.

Pulse is focused on achieving “Business without Limits”, and the curriculum and networking events are designed to provide you with the ideas, actions, and best practices to deliver on the three business imperatives:

Better focus from technology investment on business outcomes

Streamline execution to reduce unnecessary cost and risk

React with speed and agility to shifting competitive landscapes

So on behalf of IBM and our Business Partners, I hope you accept the challenge to attend Pulse and take away actions to drive business impact for your organization. It’s a 3 day education and networking opportunity that you will not want to miss!

This year at Pulse, we will be running another Cloud Service Management Simulator Workshop. If you are interested in attending, please send an email to tivmktg@us.ibm.com.

What is it?-The IBM Cloud Service Management Simulator Workshop is a hands-on, interactive simulation game which focuses on the challenges and business value of implementing service management best practices in the context of a realistic scenario. -During the workshop, you'll use gaming and role-playing dynamics to mirror the real-world interaction between IT and the business, from both a strategic and operational perspective.

-Over the course of the session, you will experience a transformation from chaos to order, and learn how the right balance of speed, accuracy, and prioritization in problem solving can translate into a superior business outcome.

What's in it for you?-Accelerated and breakthrough understanding of ITSM and ITIL best practices, which you can take back to your company to assess how these can contribute to your organization.-Better understanding of how the effectiveness of IT processes impacts the business.

-A fun interactive experience!

When is it?-Sunday, March 4th, from 2:00pm to 5:00pm,-MGM Grand Hotel, Las Vegas - Room 306 (Level 3 of the hotel conference center)

-We deliberately chose this day and time, as it does NOT conflict with any other sessions.

Governments are facing increased challenges from budget constraints and lack of resources while service to citizens becomes more demanding. Pulse 2012will explore these issues and more, to help attendees learn how to optimize government infrastructure and deliver ultimate business value to citizens.

Pulse 2012attendees will hear from diverse clients like City of Cambridge, Boston College, Tulane University, City of Dubuque and NC State University who will discuss today's government challenges, on topics ranging from leadership and innovation in smarter cities, to managing assets in a regulatory environment and moving to the Cloud to achieve significant benefits.

Pulse 2012will also be featuring the newest technology initiatives and next-generation solutions offered by IBM and our business partners, including:

IBM Solutions for Smarter Cities demonstration which will show how IBM’s solutions can help improve city operations and incident response, reduce crime and traffic congestion, increase worker productivity and reduce water consumption.

IBM's Smarter Buildings demonstration which focuses on IBM Intelligent Building Management. The solution provides key analytics through a consolidated, role-based view of data in two key areas — energy and facilities management — helping building owners, operators and managers increase building management effectiveness and energy efficiency, with lower operating costs.

With the emergence of the technologies that make smart grids possible, customers have new levels of information and control. At Pulse 2012 you will hear how utilities are managing their smart grid from a comprehensive, cross departmental perspective, that spans from pro-active maintenance, to modern IT enabled networks, to security and beyond!

At Pulse 2012 hear from 35+ IBM Energy and Utilities clients on topics as diverse as regulatory requirements, asset management for utility operations, smart grid infrastructure and supply chain lifecycle activities. Pulse 2012 will also be featuring the latest technology initiatives and next-generation solutions offered by IBM and our business partners, including:

Smarter Energy demonstrations that show how IBM can help utilities manage intelligent meter networks, mitigate security risk, and comply with regulatory and operational mandates using visibility, control and automation capabilities from IBM.

IBM Maximo Spatial demonstration is focused on the core utility lines of business: distribution, transmission, fossil/hydro generation and nuclear power including meter asset management and will show the spatial enablement of Maximo Asset Management with ESRI's ArcGIS Server.

Cloud keynotes and breakout sessions at Pulse will reveal that Cloud is significantly downsizing the barriers to new technology applications, making them as equally available to small businesses and individuals as governments and large enterprises.

From the end user perspective, nobody knows how Cloud does this.

And that is the point.

Cloud provides the end user a simple and elegant interface to a vast IT infrastructure. Understanding its complexity is not required in order to realize its financial benefits. Possibly the most impacting benefit of cloud applications is enabling organizations to expand investment in delivering new services instead of just maintaining the existing infrastructure.

Pulse 2012 is your gateway to discover cutting edge industry specific solutions bringing together industry experts from different part of the world to provide you insights on current business scenarios and help you identify valuable industry solutions for your business: government, telecommunications, energy & utilities, healthcare, retail, banking, insurance, travel & transportation, manufacturing and chemicals & petroleum.

At Pulse, you will also find industry specific demonstrations that illustrate the broad business value of IBM industry solutions. And you can experience industry round tables where you gain an opportunity to meet peers for discussion and an exchange of views. Hosted by IBM client executives, industry round tables are a great way to share best practices and industry challenges and solutions, to offer valuable knowledge and practical advice on the topics and solutions that matters most to you and your Industry.

Your infrastructure is already expanding, whether you like it or not. The question is: will you have the ability to see it, control it and automate it across cloud, smart physical infrastructure, enterprise mobility and data analytics?

Attend the Day 1 Opening General Session and find out how to gain the Visibility, Control and Automation you need to achieve “Business without Limits.” You’ll hear from customers who are already starting to achieve Business without Limits. IBM Tivoli General Manager, Danny Sabbah, and Robert LeBlanc, who heads up IBM’s Software Middleware Group, will also be sharing their insights and vision. Also featured will be performances by the highly acclaimed revolutionary a cappella group, Naturally 7!

DAY TWO, March 6, 2012

The destination is “Business without Limits.” But how do you get there? Attend the Day 2 General Session for an in-depth look at Visibility, Control and Automation in action! A panel of IBM customers will share what they’ve learned on the journey to achieving Visibility, Control and Automation across their entire infrastructure. IBM Tivoli’s VP of Strategy and Development, Jamie Thomas, and VP of Open Standards, Angel Diaz, will outline a “roadmap” for optimizing your infrastructure. You’ll also hear about IBM’s broader roadmap around Smarter Computing, from IBM Senior VP and Group Executive Software Group, Steve Mills. And you won’t want to miss featured performers, “America’s Got Talent” finalists, illuminate!

DAY THREE, March 7, 2012

What innovations in analytics and computing technology will the future bring? Join us for the Day 3 General Session and you’ll get an exciting glimpse into the innovations of the future. Find out how the advanced analytics used in Watson are being put to work in businesses around the world. Discover what the data center of the future will look like, in the year 2020 and beyond. Finally, you won’t want to miss our featured guest speaker, co-founder of Apple Computer and Innovator, philanthropist and entrepreneur, Steve Wozniak!

When people ask me what Tivoli does or what is service management, my first impulse is to launch into this:

IBM Service Management represents an evolutionary leap forward in managing services. IBM Service Management provides the integrated Visibility, Control and Automation™ that you need across business and technology assets to help overcome roadblocks to innovation. It enables you to better achieve your business objectives and maximize the value from all of the assets that support your operation.

But its even easier than that. We do what any good business must: save customers time and money, while enabling them to delight their own customers. For instance, the gecko and the hairdo keep telling you every day of your life how easy it is to save with them. What they don't tell you is that those savings would be impossible without loads of data housed in systems run on software that organizes chaos to help make business sense. That's what we do. Of course, there is a lot more to the story and we hope you'll come to Pulse for the rest.

Here's a little something to dance in your head while you score holiday gifts online this season:

At Pulse, we're going to showcase what we do best. We're also going to bring brand new solutions, roadmaps for forthcoming development, sessions with domain experts and real human clients, and solution demos that show you how to save money and keep customers coming back to you.

We'll have some fun too. I'll tell you more about that later.

Pulse 2012 is March 4-7 at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Early Bird registrationcan save you up to $700 but the offer expires on December 16.

Though you may still be in a Tryptophan cloud, you can get a Cyber Monday deal on IBM Cloud stuff by registering for Pulse today! Don't wait until March 4, and don't even wait until December 16 (when this offer is over for good). Do these three minute steps right now save an extra $700 on your Cyber Monday savings adventure!

And any other awesome firm that is willing to collaborate with IBM by showcasing your business and technology leadership at Pulse.

The benefits are simple, but long reaching. We estimate over 7000 people will pass through the Pulse Expo. And with them, limitless opportunities to progress and develop leads in an environment super charged with the brightest talent, sharpest skill and most focused energy in the industry. If you were there last year, you know what I am talking about and are probably already committed to a Pulse 2012 sponsorship.

Although half of the sponsorship opportunities are still available as of today, they are being scooped up faster than previous years. Friends, now is the time to lock in your Pulse 2012 Expo Sponsorship. Book before December 16 and save a hefty $5K, unless you are a Pulse 2011 Sponsor Alumnus, then you save $10K. These are going fast, and it's no wonder. Just don't say I didn't tell you about it.

Every year, about this time, the creative juices start to flow as we start to gear up for IBM Pulse. Which stream will have the most interesting success stories? Which industry will produce the most creative abstract for a client presentation? What will energize clients to participate at Pulse? Who will get their 5 mins of fame at Pulse? All good questions! Let's see if I can help to answer them.

For years the Enterprise Asset Management track has been one of the largest at Pulse. This year, under the Smarter Physical Infrastructure stream, EAM will have 84 sessions. New this year will be 24 sessions under the "Industry case studies" track, which will no doubt produce some interesting submissions. Last year we had an agricultural industry submission that drew rave reviews. Refer here to see the diversity of industries in Latin America that were covered......from the Brazilian Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock (CNA) story to Cristal Chile a bottle manufacturer .

Maximo Asset Management solutions have a broad industry presence and we hope that by having 24 sessions dedicated to industry case studies we will be able to touch as many industries as possible. Have you submitted your proposal yet? Click here to submit.

Another incentive that we created this year in order to solicit your creativity, is the 'If only I had Maximo" home video campaign. If you are anything like me, as I encounter the daily tasks of maintaining a household, I'm constantly wishing I had Maximo to help with the maintenance, upkeep and warranty records for my house. I mean who wouldn't want an automated work order generated directly to take care of all of the machinery around the house and implement preventive maintenance schedules?

Of course Maximo isn't for home use, but we created this campaign (click here) to see if we had any creative folks out there who were looking for 5 mins of fame at Pulse. We think that this will also be a good way to expand our social media presence and get the community more engaged. How many of you are following our blog ? Are you a member of our community? We continue to grow and are always posting the latest & greatest activities for Maximo.

Take a look at our latest video which I filmed on a local goat farm.........can you see the similarities to the CNA story?

I hope this has inspired you to create your own home video & submit it for your 5 mins of fame at Pulse. Reminder of the link.